That's Not Romantic!
by LovesBrooklyn
Summary: What happens after Lucy leaves the hospital. A one draft one shot.


A one draft one shot. But I am now out of ideas for WYWS one shots so send me suggestions!

Lucy slipped out of the hospital chapel quickly, as the Callahans erupted it into question about Peter's relationship with Ashley Bartlett Bacon. Jack watched her leave in a state of disbelief... and relief. He watched silently as his brother frantically tried to apologize to Ashley's husband. He was desperate for a moment of quiet and a deep breath of fresh air but stayed in case a fight broke out. The Bacon's parted ways eventually, after Peter has swore to Ashley's husband he wouldn't contact her again and Ashley proclaimed she would file for divorce immediately. As his mother approached the altar to help the nurse assist Peter back to his room, Jack slipped out the chapel door.

Outside the hospital, the cold January air shocked his lungs. He squinted into the windy but saw no Lucy. 'Probably for the best, he thought as he re entered the hospital. He had no idea what he would say to her. Maybe something about feeling confused? Or something about being in love with her? But feeling guilty because he had betrayed his brother?

Jack slowly wandered back to his brother's hospital room. Attempting to be as quiet as possible, he took the seat in the corner of the room. He rubbed one hand against his freshly shaven face as he loosened his tie with the other. His parents were still trying to get an explanation from Peter, who was still just stammering and shrugging. Mary and Saul were helping Elsie take a pill. Saul held the cup of water and Mary held the bottle of pills and camera.

Jack watched them silently but was too wrapped up in his own thoughts. He felt silly now, thinking back to how carefully he had shaven and ironed his clothes this morning. He knew it was his last effort to impress Lucy, to convince her she was making a mistake. He felt even sillier now, sitting silently in this crowded room, unable to process a single coherent thought.

Finally, the red headed nurse managed to come in and herd the family out. She insisted that it had been a long afternoon for Peter, that they needed to ensure the stress wasn't affecting him negatively. Jack wondered if it was true or if the nurse just felt sorry for Peter. Jack assumed she just hadn't noticed him, sitting there so quietly. When she returned and assessed Peter, she winked at Jack while leaving. Jack smiled at her nervously. He approached Peter's bed slowly. "You okay?" he asked his brother.

Peter sighed. "Are you going yell at me and demand answers like everyone else today?"

"No," Jack answered honestly.

"Because I'm the one who should be demanding answers from you!" Peter said, pointing his finger at his brother.

Jack knew Peter was mad and that he had every right to be. But Jack...Jack just felt happy. He was happy that his brother wasn't married to Lucy and that Lucy loved him. He just needed to explain this to be Peter. "I know, you're right, Peter. Let me just tell you what happened first, okay?"

Peter sighed but didn't argue and Jack pulled up a chair. He started from the beginning, discovering Lucy sleeping on his parent's couch after the Christmas celebration. He told him about Joe Jr, and donating blood, and accusing Lucy of lying, and discovering Peter's single testicle, and the loveseat, and ruining Peter's carpet, and the pregnancy miscommunication, and Mary's creamy mashed potatoes, and giving Lucy the snow globe and… "And that brings us to this afternoon," Jack trailed off.

"If you love Lucy, why did you just let her leave the hospital today," Peter demanded.

Jack blinked, surprised at the question. "I- I had to make sure you were okay. I- I had to explain everything to you You're my brother."

Peter groaned. "I'm not a complete asshole, you know? You think I don't care how Lucy is feeling? She must feel terrible. This morning, she had a family and finance and a future. Now what? She's… I have no idea. I don't know anything about the girl but I assume she's feeling terrible! And I bet she'd be feeling a whole lot less terrible if you were having this conversation with her and not me!"

Jack couldn't help but smile. His brother was right and he wasn't being a complete asshole for once. "So what are you going to do?" Jack asked his brother.

"Me?" Peter asked. He waved his hand. "I'm fine. That job, that apartment? This smile? I could get any girl in Chicago. Well...any girl that isn't in love with my brother, I guess." Jack chuckled. "What are _you_ going to do," Peter asked, poking Jack in the chest.

"I… I don't know," Jack answered honestly.

Peter rolled his eyes. "I don't know, Jack. It sounds to me like you know how you feel and you know what you want."

Jack only smiled in response and gave his brother an awkward hug. Jack left shortly after, once the nurse had brought Peter dinner and he knew his brother was settled in for the night.

Jack drove his box truck to the suburbs slowly. He parked outside the family home and took his time unbuckling his seat belt. Peter was right; Jack knew how he felt and what he wanted. But first he had to make sure his family was okay after the day's events.

Jack finally gathered the courage to knock on the door of the house and his little sister answered. She started asking him questions a mile a minute. "Did you and Peter fight? Did you talk to Lucy? Did Peter say anything about Ashley?" But he just ruffled her hair in response. He noticed Saul and Elsie sitting in the living room and greeted them. They greeted him normally and he decided they were unbothered by the day's events. Jack paused when he noticed his parents sitting side by side at the dining room table. His mother looked like she'd been crying. He slowly sat down across from them.

"I just have one question," Midge said, her eyes red and puffy and her voice shaky. "Are you in love with Lucy?"

Jack nodded. "Yes, of course." Midge nodded and slowly smiled. Jack's father seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "I talked about it with Peter and he-" Jack begin.

Midge waved his comment away. "We're worried about Lucy. We know she's all alone."

"I'm… I'm going to go to her apartment next," Jack insisted. "I'll make sure she's okay."

"That's not romantic!" Elsie insisted loudly from the living room.

"Romantic?" Jack asked, confused. When he turned back to his parents, his mother was extending her hand to him and he saw a tiny gold ring in her palm.

"It's the ring your father proposed to me with. And now we want you to have you," she explained.

He opened and closed his mouth, unable to find the words. He reached his hand out for it slowly. He inspected it thoughtfully before clearing his throat and saying, "Tomorrow morning… it's her last day at the El. We'll all go together and I'll ask her to be part of the family."

His family erupted in glee and began hugging each other. Mary started saying how excited she was to have a sister, his mother and father raved at how happy they were that they weren't going to lose Lucy, and Saul breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't managed to screw everything up after all. Jack silently turned the ring over in his palm and smiled nervously. He sure hoped she'd say yes.


End file.
